Gucci, Prada, ChristmasRepost
by Eryn Goldbergg
Summary: Christmas in New York. How could anything be better? Ech-hem. Correction. How could anything be worse? Repost.
1. Chapter 1

In the Upper East Side of New York, Christmas was not a holiday. It was a sport.

Not that the future debutantes and art gallery browsers would _ever _do any vigorous activity unless it was Yoga Booty Ballet.

From the decorations, to Christmas dinner, to presents, it was all a competition between the mothers of the Upper East Side. And the children—even though the mothers insisted that their hours of decoration and napkin coordinating were _for_ the children—were just bystanders.

This most _definitely _includes the Montez household. First place for 3 years, baby.

Josefina Montez, 43 year old mother—not that you could tell with all the collagen and Botox she had on her face—was the reigning champion of all Christmas parties. Every year, on December 24, from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., the ballroom at the Tribeca Star Hotel was packed with over 200 people, all for the Montez Christmas party. There was gossip, champagne, scandals—("That bitch is dating WHO?") and Gabriella Montez(daughter of Josefina)'s personal favorite, guys.

Well, it was really _guy. _Singular. Hopefully said guy was actually singular, because he was the Apple iPod of Gabriella's eye.

Troy Bolton. 19. Tall. Dark. Handsome.

Two thumbs up!

And since the Boltons were always at the Montez Christmas party(half the time Leslie Bolton was just looking for ideas for her New Years' Eve party), this gave Gabriella the perfect chance, year after year, after year.

But he completely ignored her. Well, in the romantic sense.

Year. After Year. After _Year._

One year, she had worn a floor length black Oscar de la Renta(OSCAR DE LA RENTA!), and he hadn't given her a second glance. He had just "talked" to her(puh-lease!). His bright blue gaze remained on _her. Her, the whole frickin' time._

Sharpay Evans, daughter of Vance and Jessica Evans. She and her twin brother Ryan were exactly alike: blond, snooty, chic. Of course, Ryan didn't bother Gabriella as much as Sharpay did. Ryan's obsession with fedoras and brightly colored beanies barely caught Gabriella's eye.

It was the way Troy looked at Sharpay that irritated her.

His eyes would get all hazy, and they'd travel from the open toes of her slingback Prada pumps to the root of each ash blond curl on her head. Then, out of the corner of his perfect lips, came a sigh of longing. A sigh of wanting.

The same sigh that would come out of Gabriella's lips when she saw him.

The same sigh she was sighing right now.

The cold air of New York pinched at her cheeks, turning them the same cherry red color as her NARS coated lips. Gabriella turned a sharp corner, the loud clicking and clacking of Prada pumps and Milano Blahniks as cheerful as any Christmas holiday to her.

She breathed out a sigh of relief; her condo-plex, The Belgravia, was coming into view. The familiar red brick and polished granite 20 story building comforted her more than a steaming mug of eggnog ever could. Eager to get out of the biting cold, Gabriella practically ran towards her home.

Gabriella walked into the lobby and dropped her blue Via Spiga wool-cashmere corset seam coat and ivory scarf aimlessly on a long sausage shaped leather couch and stormed towards the elevator. James, the concierge, knew immediately to have the coat and scarf sent up to her parent's condo.

"Dammit," Gabriella muttered, pushing a Chanel Black Satin-lacquered index finger into the elevator button. It refused to light up, and the elevator was stuck on floor 6.

"C'mon," her scowl deepened. Suddenly, an well-known thumb pushed the button from behind her and it instantly lit up. It was tan, muscular(if fingers could be muscular)…most definetely the hand of—

"Troy Bolton," Gabriella smirked as confidently as she could, spinning around on the heels of her black suede ankle boots. "What are _you _doing here? I thought you lived at the Miraval,"

"And I do," Troy's ice-blue eyes narrowed slightly, as a smirk graced his lips as well. "I actually came here for a visit,"

"Oh," Gabriella tried to sound uninterested, even though she was dying to know who he was seeing that day. The tension behind her lips built up until finally, she burst. "And who might you be visiting?"

Troy's smirk turned into a full-blown smile. "Your mom," he replied immaturely, looking up at the elevator.

"Well, then, you'll have to head to the Lower East Side," she said coolly. "she's visiting an art gallery for the day. With _your _mom," she smirked proudly at her witty remark.

"Well, then, I guess I came to see you," Troy shrugged, making it seem like no big deal.

"Oh?" Gabriella's freshly waxed eyebrows shot skyward.

"I was planning on taking you to lunch," Troy sighed. "But if you don't want to go—"

"No, no," Gabriella said eagerly. "I'll go, of course. Just let me go up and change and I'll be down in a second,"

Suddenly the elevator doors clicked open and Gabriella glided inside.

_Qi black cashmere dress: $310.00_

_Ellie Tahari black wool belted coat: $550.00_

_The look on Troy's face when Gabriella stepped out of the elevator: Priceless._

_Um…the girl on his arm?: not so much._

"Wow…" Gabriella trailed off, looking Sharpay Evans up and down. "Sharpay,"

"Gabriella!" Sharpay squealed excitedly, detaching herself from Troy's arm and running over to her mother-introduced-supposed-best-friend. "You look so awesome!"

"Thanks," Gabriella said tightly, glancing over at Troy. He was beaming. At Sharpay, of course.

"So perfect that I have to get a picture!" Sharpay's NARS Adelita manicured hand dug deep inside of her Rebecca Minkoff leather tote. "Suh-mi-yul!" Sharpay cried, snapping a quick picture with her Canon Elph.

Gabriella winced at the blinding flash. "So, where are we going for lunch?" she asked, looking directly at Troy.

"It's a surprise," Troy winked at her and Gabriella's heart fluttered.

"Ooh, a private room for—three?" Gabriella winced at having to add one to the number she originally the thought the reservations were for—two.

"Well, it's more than just us three," Troy explained, leading the girls out of the building and onto the street. "My friends Chad and Taylor are coming,"

"Except for they're not dating, contrary to popular belief," Sharpay cut in, rolling her eyes. "But we all know they totally want to,"

Gabriella arched an eyebrow. Chad Danforth and Taylor McKessie? Together? Um…NO. Not only was Chad a total jockstrap, he was undoubtedly not fit for Taylor, the daughter of the CEO of Hills-Fargo.

"Hmm," Gabriella smirked, amused. "I had no idea they had any desire whatsoever to be in the same room with each other, much less date. But you certainly seem to be in the know, Sharpay, so I'll take your word for it, instead."

The sting of the remark lowered Sharpay's 100-watt smile to a dim, corners-of-lips-turned-up grimace and Troy looked disgusted at Gabriella's rudeness.

She wanted to apologize immediately, but that would only make her look like a fool. So she pursed her lips and called a cab instead. As they bunched into the cab, Gabriella found that her position on this lunch date was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second. Sharpay was sandwiched between Gabriella and Troy, and as the bounced along the potholes in the road, Sharpay would instinctively squeal and clutch Troy and Gabriella's arms, and then snort-giggle after.

She wanted to deck her.

"So, Gabriella," Sharpay said, desperate to make conversation. "Have you seen the new UGGs? They're adorable,"

"Really?" Gabriella's flat tone didn't faze Sharpay, and she continued babbling, punctuating her sentences with a flip of her blond hair every now and then.

"Yeah!" Sharpay cried. Gabriella saw Troy snort at Sharpay's eagerness and she felt a pang of jealousy.

"They have every single color. I got terracotta and pacific blue pairs of the short ones, and the mulberry and black pairs of the tall ones. I even got the button ones!"

"Did you really?" Gabriella feigned surprise, her mouth gaping open.

"Look it!" Sharpay held up a denim clad leg and gave Troy, Gabriella, and the cab driver a good look at her sand colored short buttoned UGGs.

"Sharpay, put your foot down," Troy laughed, grabbing at her foot.

"No," The blond mock-pouted.

"Don't make me tickle you…."

"Oh, please don't…"

"Well, then, put your foot down,"

"Blah, blah, blah."

They continued to giggle and banter for the rest of the ride.

Gabriella sat back in her seat, feeling more alone than ever.


	2. Chapter 2

The Tribeca Grand Church Lounge wasn't as packed as Gabriella thought it would be. In fact, she, Troy, and Sharpay, had managed to find Troy's friends and obtain 2 booths. Of course the seating was worked out in a mature, polite way: Troy and Sharpay in one booth, Taylor, Chad, and Gabriella in another.

Gabriella was seething.

She guessed it wasn't that bad—Taylor was pretty cool. In the dark lighting, the dark skinned girl's Corey Lynn Calter yellow cotton empire shirt dress bounced off her skin as she talked, drawing Gabriella's eyes to her immediately. Every time Taylor talked, she'd kick the leg of the table with her brown oiled cowboy boots and shove Chad over with one hand. Gabriella noticed the playful banter many times and started to go back on the sharp words she had lashed at Sharpay…there was definitely some flirting going on.

Chad, on the other hand, seemed to be a pretty chill person, with hilarious isms and a shining smile. His light brown corkscrew curls bounced up and down whenever he moved his head. Gabriella could see he had tried to hide his frizz-fro underneath a heather twill fedora, but his curls were so untamed that the hat was pretty much resting on the very tips of the curls instead of firmly attached to his head like it was supposed to be.

Overall, they were pretty cool to hang out with. Hey, they weren't Troy.

But thank God, they weren't Sharpay.

"What are you going to have?" Taylor murmured absently behind her menu.

"I will be having," Chad boomed, his voice significantly louder than anyone else's. "The..ah…lamb charmoo-moo," he grinned, proud of himself.

Gabriella bit the inside of her lip to prevent her half-smirk from turning into a full-blown grin.

"Chad," Taylor half-snorted. "Isn't it charmoula?"

Chad's face fell. "Oopsies,"

Taylor burst into giggles, covering her mouth and shaking with laughter. "Charmoo-moo! Oh, that's funny,"

Gabriella lightly tittered behind her hand.

Chad's face contorted into mock-anger. "So my French is a little off…sue me!"

Gabriella's gaze fixed on Troy and Sharpay giggling and bantering in their private booth, and wrinkles of anger formed on her forehead.

Taylor rolled her eyes at his cluelessness, and folded her arms across her C-cups. "Tell me the truth, Gabriella," she said, suddenly becoming serious. "Do you think Troy and Sharpay are good together?"

"No," Gabriella blurted, then bit down hard on her lip as punishment for being so impulsive.

"Well," Taylor frowned. "I agree with you,"

"Mmm," Chad furrowed his brows. "Gossip, gossip, gossip,"

"We're not gossiping when it's the truth," Taylor rolled her eyes. Gabriella bit her tongue. She completely agreed.

"The only thing I know…" Taylor eyed Gabriella deviously. "is that if it weren't for Troy's _parents, _Sharpay never would have had a chance with him,"

For the first time that night, Gabriella grinned.

"Anyway, I think I'll just have a cobb salad," Taylor shrugged and picked her menu up, as if she hadn't just leaked the biggest gossip in the history of New York. Gabriella watched her, confused. It was as if she had forgotten the whole thing.

But Gabriella couldn't forget.

_Wake up in the morning feelin' like _

_Grab my glasses, I'm out the door, I'm gonna hit the city_

_Before I go, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack_

'_cuz when I leave for the night I ain't comin' back_

"_I'm talking pedicure on my toes, toes," _Gabriella sang breathlessly as she finished her third lap. She pushed her white iPod earbuds more into her ears, listening to the thumping bass of 'Tik Tok' by Ke$ha. "_Trying on all our clothes, clothes,"_

Usually, she would've been embarrassed to be singing while running around the indoor track at Right Round Health Club, with all the people watching and all, but Gabriella had come super early on purpose: so she could sing all she wanted and the only accompaniment to her voice would be the squeak of her black, yellow, and silver Nike Shox against the hard rubber.

Gabriella passed the white line marking a lap once more.

"Lap 4: Mile Completed," the electronic monitor beeped up on the wall. Gabriella pushed her Gucci tortoiseshell glasses(only worn when she was NOT in public) further up her nose and kept running. Her olive skin was slick with sweat, and her brown curls were damp and stuck to the back of her neck.

After passing the white line four more times, Gabriella stopped abruptly and unclipped her apple green iPod nano from the waistband of her black running capris. She pressed stop on Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance".

"_GABRIELLLA!" _An all-too-familiar voice boomed through the track club. "GABI!"

Gabriella closed her eyes and spun around. "Yes?" she sighed. She squinted one eye open. Yep, just as she expected.

Sharpay Evans' Brain Atwood patent platforms smacked the rubber with every step she took. Instead of her usual, bubbly look, she looked determined, focused…and smart?

"Gabriella," Sharpay said as a way of greeting. "I have a question for you,"

Gabriella blinked. "Good morning, Sharpay. Nice to see you, too,"

"It is, isn't it?" the blonde exposed her Brite Smile whitened teeth for a split second before pursing her lips, Barbara Walters style. "Are you coming to Peaches and Cigarettes tonight?"

"Excuse me?" Gabriella's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, you know," Sharpay gave a flick of her bony wrist as if Gabriella should've known two months ago. "The bar in SoHo? Troy's older brother's band is playing there, and Troy invited, like, everyone."

"Oh my God," the blond smacked a NARS Orgasm manicured hand to her lips. "You didn't know?"

Gabriella's empty look said it all. She had no idea Troy even had an older brother. God, she felt excluded. Instead of sulking like she wanted to do, she forced her best 'oh, now I remember' look onto her face.

"Of course I did," Gabriella smiled. "I just spaced, sorry. So, what are you wearing there?"

Sharpay seemed taken aback. She fiddled with the neck of her lace tee and grimaced. "Um…I don't know. I'll call you, okay?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Gabriella slung her towel over her sweaty neck. "You certainly won't be wearing the same thing as me,"

With that, she stalked towards the door, leaving a confused Sharpay behind.

Peaches and Cigarettes was one of the most popular clubs in SoHo. Every night it was packed with people, hour to hour. Usually, Gabriella would have been impressed by the smoky gallery-esque feel of the place, but, tonight…uhm…yah. NO.

She had seriously dressed for an ultra-trendy night club: Diane Von Furstenberg sequin chiffon minidress, snakeskin suede pumps, and a chain link necklace by Sequin. Certainly basement-night-club chic.

And what was _everyone else _dressed for? _Basement-_chic.

Gabriella looked around the basement club and noticed the all black vinyl walls, booths, and tables, were covered in glow in the dark paint and constantly being splattered by throngs of people wearing all black and carrying luminescent paint brushes. The only way you could tell that a person was walking towards you and not just a cloud of blackness were the glow in the dark shutter shades and glow stick mouth guards that they wore. Throbbing music echoed through the club, and towards the stage, paint splattered instruments were being set up for the act.

"Wow, you're certainly…dressed up," Taylor blinked multiple times, taking in Gabriella's fancy getup. "You do know this is a paint club, right?" Her black Elizabeth and James jersey dress was splattered in orange, green, and hot pink glow in the dark paint. The leggings she wore underneath were Jackson Pollock'd as well.

_Uh…NO!_

"Yeah, totally," Gabriella sputtered, rubbing her lips together. "Oh my God, Tay—you didn't think I was actually going to wear _this, _did you?"

Gabriella wondered what she could change into.

"For a while I did," Taylor laughed. "Well, that's a relief,"

"You have something to change into, correct?" A brown haired girl with a slight Russian accent bounded over to the group.

"Gabriella, this is Kelsi," Taylor roped an arm around Kelsi's already paint-covered shoulders. "She's one of our friends,"

"Pleasure to meet you," Gabriella pasted on her most sickeningly sweet smile. "Dammit, I must have forgotten my change of clothes in the taxi on the way here,"

"No worries," Kelsi picked at a dried paint splatter on her wrist. "I have clothes that you can wear,"

"I think it's best for Gabriella to wear her own clothes," Sharpay smirked, sauntering over to them. Tendrils of blond hair snuck out of the black paint-spattered beanie she had tried to stuff her hair in. "After all, the best part is rewearing the clothes for a chic twist on things,"

"True," Taylor pursed her lips. Gabriella's mouth felt like unhinging and falling open. Whatever happened to sweet, innocent Sharpay?

"Alright, folks," a scrawny looking, paint covered man crowed into the microphone. "Grab a partner, its time for partner-paintin'! Everyone, step out onto the dance floor and paint your partner from head to toe!"

The girls' jaws dropped. The same sentence was running through their minds: _Did he just say head to toe?_

Taylor closed her eyes and shook her head rapidly. "Alright, that's it. Chad, we're leaving!" she called over the gyrating throngs of people.

"But Blake's band hasn't even played yet," Chad called back absentmindedly, dumping a cupful of paint on Troy's golden-brown locks.

"Dude!" Troy half-laughed. "Really?"

Taylor pressed her lips into a thin line. "CHAD!"

"Alright," Chad whined. "I'm coming, go wait in the car."

Taylor pursed her lips, unconvinced. "Whatever." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "See you guys later. Text me the deets, puh-lease. I wanna know who's hooking up, who's breaking up, and who's making up, 'kay?"

Gabriella kissed Taylor on both cheeks and waved goodbye. At that moment, she didn't have any deets to text to Taylor, but by the end of the night, if Gabriella had anything to do with it—there would be.


End file.
